Archive : British Auto Maker and Unions Sign Deal

Rover Group Ltd., the British auto maker owned by BMW of Germany, said today that it had reached agreement on a three-year pay package after almost a week of talks with its joint trade unions.

The agreement includes a pay increase of 3.5 percent in its first year beginning Nov. 1. In each of the next two years, the pay increase will be equal either to Britain’s retail price index plus half a percentage point or to 3.5 percent, whichever is higher.

Rover said workers with at least 12 months’ service would receive a further 1 percent increase, payable from Nov. 1.

”This is a fair and reasonable deal that both rewards employees and gives the company stability for the future,” the company said.

PART ONE : EXPORT OR DIE AROnline contains many stories of botched decisions, cars that never were and wrong turnings. However, perhaps the real reason why the British-owned motor industry collapsed so rapidly post-1945, was the socio-political environment it had to co-exist in. […]